Imagine coping with the tics, twitches and urges of Tourette syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder, the threat of seizures and memory loss from epilepsy and the possible side effects of medication while interviewing Celtics captain Paul Pierce on television on the Garden parquet after he hit a last-second, game-winning shot.Welcome to Greg Dickerson's world.

Greg Dickerson

Imagine coping with the tics, twitches and urges of Tourette syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder, the threat of seizures and memory loss from epilepsy and the possible side effects of medication while interviewing Celtics captain Paul Pierce on television on the Garden parquet after he hit a last-second, game-winning shot.

Welcome to Greg Dickerson's world.

The Celtics sideline reporter for Comcast SportsNet disclosed a couple of weeks ago that he had been diagnosed with epilepsy after suffering two seizures, the second of which forced him to leave a Celtics broadcast at the Garden. But during an interview with the T&G this week, Dickerson revealed for the first time publicly that he has also suffered from Tourette syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder for 15 years and dyslexia, a reading disability, since the third grade.

“I've never really felt comfortable talking about it,” Dickerson said. “I'm pretty private, but the reason I decided to be honest about all this stuff is I didn't want a lot of speculation and I didn't feel like lying to everybody.”

Dickerson said he's informed his family and a few close friends that he has Tourette syndrome and OCD, but not anyone at CSNNE or with the Celtics.

“Whether they notice or know, I don't know,” he said. “If they know, they are superior people because they're willing to let me battle through this and do my job.”

Dickerson said a lot of people have called and texted him lately to inquire about his health so he decided to go public to set the record straight.

“Maybe if there's a 10-year-old kid out there,” Dickerson said, “who's dealing with stuff like this, I can be an inspiration. I can say, ‘If this idiot here who can't talk and twitches all over the place can be on a major NBA broadcast, then they can stand up in front of a class and give a speech.'”

Dickerson, 41, grew up in Milford, graduated from Milford High in 1989 and after graduating from Emerson he began his broadcasting career as a producer for Gary Tanguay's sports talk show on WWTM (now WVEI, 1440 AM) in Worcester in 1995. He served Celtics public address announcer, then CSNNE studio host before becoming Celtics sideline reporter.

Dickerson said spells of stuttering and involuntary mouth movements began last spring, but worsened in late December to the point where he could barely speak due to spasms in his tongue and jaw. Dickerson called himself “a complete train wreck on the air” during the Celtics' preseason game Dec. 21 at the Garden. The next day he had to leave work and skip a taping of a Celtics season preview show.

Two days before the Celtics' season opener against the Knicks on Christmas, Dickerson, his wife Shannon and their 3-year-old son Cole hopped in their car to drive to New York. Shannon didn't feel well and had asked Greg to drive for the beginning of the trip, but she got behind the wheel any way.

“Nobody said a word about it,” Dickerson said. “We just went off on our way, but if I had driven, the three of us would be dead.”

Not long into the drive, Dickerson suffered a seizure. He recalls having difficulty speaking and slamming his fist on the dashboard in frustration, then blanking out. The next thing he remembers is sitting on the side of I-95 in Attleboro while the state police and fire and rescue squad tried to convince him to get out of the car. Dickerson spent the night at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro. Medical tests ruled out a brain tumor, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis, but doctors weren't sure what the problem was.

Dickerson returned to work for the Celtics' home game against Dallas on Jan. 11, but a week later he suffered a less severe seizure that forced him to leave the broadcast. He was then he was diagnosed with epilepsy, a chronic neurological disorder which affects 50 million people worldwide, and placed on anti-seizure medication that helps control it, but doesn't cure him. He's taken medications for his other neurological disorders for years.

Dickerson returned to the Celtics' broadcasts for a second time on Jan. 31 and hasn't missed a game since. Dickerson said his speech has improved, but he still pauses frequently.

“When you have a seizure,” Dickerson said, “your brain waves kind of get all messed up and it takes awhile for things to settle down and get back into a rhythm so my memory is not as sharp as it normally is. Getting words out, a lot of times I have a thought in my head and I can't get it out of my mouth. That over time will get better.”

Dickerson's twitches receive more notice than for most people with Tourette syndrome because he appears on television with thousands of people watching him. Sometimes Dickerson can't control his tics, but other times he can by concentrating. If he feels the urge to twitch his neck, shoulder or eyes, he'll tap his foot or clench his fist instead.

Dickerson wouldn't describe his case of Tourette syndrome as mild.

“It's pretty severe,” Dickerson said. “On a scale of one to 10, it's not a 10, but it's probably a six. I think there's a lot of confusion about Tourette's and OCD. People think automatically that you swear. That's the nth degree of it. But it's pretty severe. It's hard for me to sit down, it's hard for me to go to bed because I'm always twitching around and have involuntary movements. It's pretty difficult, but you learn to live with it. I don't like it, but I live with it.”

Dickerson realizes that he may have to live with it for the rest of his life.

“It's supposed to get better the older you get, but for me it's gotten worse,” he said. “Medication helps, but I have it so I have to deal with it. It's not going to go away. I'm not going to snap my fingers or wave a flag and have it go away.”

Nevertheless, Dickerson draws his strength from his loving and supportive wife, a son he adores and a job that fulfills him. He realizes that lots of people have more serious problems.

“There are people with brain tumors, cancer, Parkinson's at age 40,” he said. “There are people who die of heart attacks at age 38. There are people who have been out of work for two years. I've got the most unbelievable job for which I get paid a stupid amount of money to do something I absolutely love and cherish. I'm about to go on a treadmill and run four miles so I've got my health from that standpoint. I still live my life pretty well. I'm pretty lucky.”

Dickerson needs to take his medication, take care of his body, get plenty of rest and avoid stress. Those last two goals aren't easy for a sideline reporter filing live reports on television while traveling with the Celtics during this lockout-shortened, but condensed season.

Dickerson is more concerned about his son than himself. Some of Dickerson's disorders are hereditary. His father also has dyslexia.

“I do not want him to have any of this,” he said, “deal with any of this, grow up with any of this.”

Since Dickerson returned to the Celtics following his epilepsy diagnosis, he's received well wishes in person and via telephone and text messages from fans, Garden security guards, Celtics employees and visiting team media relations people. Before last Sunday's game, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, former Celtics associate head coach, asked how he was doing.

“I have trouble speaking to begin with,” Dickerson said, “but I have a harder time forming words to say how blown away I was. It's been mind boggling.”